Case Number 17486: Small Claims Court

EXPEDITION: AFRICA (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

This is not a competition or a game. It's a real-life adventure.

Opening Statement

While watching a show one day I saw a commercial for Expedition
Africa. How that happened is quite odd since I DVR everything and skip all
commercials. Nonetheless it happened and I watched the show, primarily because I
know nature programs look very good in HDTV. Was the show any good, amounting to
more than just simple eye candy?

Facts of the Case

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume."

Was this line ever uttered? We'll never know for certain, but it is
purported that Henry Morton Stanley said this as he came to the end of his
journey. He had finally found the famously lost Dr. Daniel Livingstone, deep in
the heart of Africa. In 1871, Stanley set out to find Livingstone and 970 miles
and nine months later he succeeded. Today, four intrepid explorers will set out
to retrace Stanley's route across Africa. They want to see if they can follow
Stanley's trail but do it in only thirty days. Can survivalist Benedict Allen,
wildlife expert Mireya Mayor, navigator Pasquale Scaturro, and journalist Kevin
Sites survive all the danger Africa has to offer?

The Evidence

This eight-episode miniseries, which aired earlier in 2009 on the History
Channel, follows those four explorers as they trek across Africa from Zanzibar
to Ujiji. They face all manner of peril from the land and animals, but they also
experience potential peril from each other. It wouldn't be a series from Mark
Burnett, the man behind Survivor, to not wring out some human drama from
the participants. And, honestly, I love the drama. A perfect combination of
beautiful and treacherous locales, exotic and dangerous animals, and squabbling
A-type personalities, Expedition Africa is excellent entertainment.

The trek itself is why most will tune in. What's it like to hike across
Africa today using old-fashioned techniques? With no GPS and no modern
transportation, how good are today's explorers? Can they still use a map and a
compass? Can they lug around all their supplies without a jeep? All this and
more awaits the faithful viewer, seeing the four try to find water in the
desert, keeping dry in the mountains, boating in croc infested waters, and
staying clear of the unexpectedly dangerous hippo herd. But those are the big
dangers. They also need to be wary of all the dozens of species of venomous
snakes not to mention the malaria-carrying mosquito. All in all, this expedition
does entail a lot of personal danger.

But that often pales in comparison to the danger faced at the interpersonal
level. Each of our intrepid explorers is the definitive A-type, controlling
personality. Some are a bit mellower than others, but each is accustomed to
doing it his or her own way. The literal leader of the pack in aggressive
behavior is Pasquale. He'll tell you ad naseum how many expeditions he has led,
and how he is thus the unmitigated team leader. His expertise and knowledge is
unparalleled, and nobody can know more than he. Or so he thinks. His delusions
of grandeur cause instant conflict among the four trekkers, and over the course
of the 970 miles, he will butt heads with everyone. And watching this conflict
brew, fester, and explode make the journey all the more fascinating.

Again, as a Mark Burnett production, there's one thing to keep in mind:
editing. Expedition Africa is cut together so that everything is such a
grandiose problem. It's his style, making the show more dramatic through the
editing knife, often infusing just a wee bit too much melodrama in the events.
In all reality, the trek probably wasn't as dangerous and interpersonally
dynamic as we are shown.

Knowing how great nature programs look on DVD and HD television, my
expectations were above average for the transfers on this disc. Sadly, they
weren't met. Video is 1080p, 1.85:1, and it comes with rich, accurate colors,
solid blacks, and a whole lot of detail. I noticed just the slightest bit of
aliasing in a few episodes, but that's the only significant error that came to
my eye. What I felt was lacking for the majority of the presentation was that
stunning level of depth and dimensionality. I was expecting scene after scene,
picture after picture, of such realism and depth that it would take my breath
away. I wanted to think Africa was on the other side of the TV glass. I did get
that on occasion, but the vast majority of the time it was not quite there. It
seemed to me that perhaps some of the cameras were better than others, causing
some scenes to truly shine and be extraordinary while others are just excellent.
While I was perturbed by the video, I was truly disappointed with the audio, a
Dolby-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Yes, it's DTS. Yes it's Master Audio. But why
is it just 2.0? A show just filmed in the past year in HD and put on Blu-ray is
going to give me a 2.0 mix? I feel cheated, and I couldn't get past that as I
watched the series. I'm pretty certain when I watched it on the History Channel
that I had 5.1 surround (granted not Dolby-HD Master Audio), so why is it absent
on the disc? That extra level of immersion is something I crave, and would have
elevated the series that extra bit. The lack of the extra channels is a big
negative in my book. As for what you do get with the mere 2.0 mix, the
presentation is always clean and understandable. I didn't hear any level of
distortion.

To make room for extras, five episodes are on the first disc while the
remaining three and the bonus features comprise the second. Starting things off
is "Expedition Africa: The Making of History" (20:35), a piece that at
first feels a bit PR fluffy but gets better and deeper as it goes on. It's a
quality overview of the show coupled with good behind-the-scenes material. Next
is "Stanley and Livingstone" (4:20), a brief narrative on the
historical context of our modern day explorers. Following this is "The
Maasai" (2:27), a very brief discussion about the fierce people who act as
guides and protectors of our group. "Wild Beasts, Disease, and the
Elements" (2:41) give a fast overview of the dangers the group encountered.
Next, "Survival Strategies" (10:18) gives the "for dummies"
explanation on how to survive the challenges of Africa. You'll love the maggots!
Last is "Dangers of the Wild" (19:47) that quickly covers all manner
of natural dangers anyone would face on an African safari.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Though I was a bit harsh on the video and decidedly harsh on the audio, both
do come across well on Blu-ray. It's just past history makes me expect more from
a nature-type program, and this one just doesn't meet my heightened
expectations.

Closing Statement

Expedition Africa is an interesting show I caught by chance on the
History Channel. I realize there are other "Expedition" programs
available, but I'm not so sure I'm inclined to want to watch any more of them.
This one is enjoyable, both for the trek and the personal perils. Watching it on
the History Channel just a few weeks back, Expedition Africa tempted me
to see what it would offer on Blu. And as you read, I liked the transfers but
wanted a bit more. Add to that some decent bonus materials but also a lot of
filler and I'm less inclined to offer a strong recommendation. For fans, this
release has no problems for you to avoid it. For those who haven't seen the
series, I think you'd be just as well off keeping an eye on your TV schedule and
just watching it that way.